News

May 22, 2026

London Mayor blocks £50m Metropolitan police deal with US tech company Palantir, claiming Met “only engaged with one potential supplier”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has blocked a £50m Metropolitan Police deal with US tech company Palantir, after the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime was not satisfied the process followed by the Met “adequately ensured or demonstrated value for money”.

May 22, 2026

Government lays Equality and Human Rights Commission draft updated Code of Practice in Parliament

Single-sex spaces must be used on the basis of biological sex, new guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has confirmed.

May 22, 2026

Children’s Homes Association calls for “national plan” to ensure illegal homes for children designed out of system by 2030

The Children’s Homes Association (CHA) has called on the Department for Education and local authorities to work with CHA, its members and the wider sector to implement a national plan to end the use of illegal children’s homes by 2030.

May 21, 2026

NHS trust dismisses 11 staff members over Nottingham attack victims' records

Eleven members of staff have been dismissed by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust for inappropriately accessing the medical records of the Nottingham attack victims.

May 21, 2026

Police arrest five in investigation into alleged local election fraud

Greater Manchester Police have arrested five people on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud as part of an investigation into alleged offences committed in the lead up to the local elections.

May 21, 2026

Council's "fundamental" misapplication of the law should be a wake-up call to local authorities: Ombudsman

South Gloucestershire Council turned away a domestic abuse survivor and her young children when they urgently needed help, “fundamentally misapplying the law designed to protect victims”, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

May 21, 2026

Government age assessment plans risk children being sent to unsuitable settings: social workers

Government plans to remove councils’ powers to make age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seekers risk children being put in unsuitable adult settings, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has claimed.

May 21, 2026

Government to agree “expanded and clearly defined role” for Welsh Government as part of wider youth justice system reform

The Government has confirmed plans to agree an “expanded and clearly defined role” for the Welsh Government, as part of wider youth justice system reform.

May 21, 2026

Local authorities will have new statutory duties in relation to Family Group Decision Making from summer 2026, Government announces

From summer 2026, local authorities will be required to offer a Family Group Decision Making meeting, where it is in the child’s best interests, at the point of the pre-proceedings stage.

May 21, 2026

Traveller site injunction to remain in place following High Court ruling

An injunction to prevent the unauthorised development of a gypsy caravan site within an area of outstanding natural beauty in Hertfordshire should be continued, the High Court has ruled.

May 21, 2026

Schools “in the dark” about many practical and legal implications of SEND proposals, law firm warns

The government’s proposed reforms to the SEND framework are “largely welcome” but greater clarity about rights and responsibilities for key players in the system is required, law firm Stone King has warned in its response to the government’s consultation SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young…

May 21, 2026